Badminton Strings - Everything You Need to
Know
When was the last time you gave some thought
to your Badminton
Strings?
Don’t tell me, it was when you broke a string.
It was the end of the world because your favourite racket would never be the same again.
Disconsolate you asked everyone you knew where it could be repaired and at length you found a shop
miles from home and down a back alley.
So
lovingly you handed over your prize possession for examination only to be told the awful truth, it
was dead!... Replacing one string will upset all the tensions in the adjoining
Badminton strings, so the best option
would be a complete restring. But don’t panic, it’s not a disaster, it's a very quick and
affordable process these days.
The
next big question is what type of Badminton
strings would you like, natural gut or
synthetic?
What quality,
make and size of string do you want?
And
one more thing... what tension would you
like?
Oh
no, PANIC !!!!
The
other occasion is where you’ve got a bit more money to spend on a new racket!
Aside from the price you’re willing to pay
most people will be governed by familiarity, ie same make as you already have, or something new
that has been suggested by a friend or even the salesperson.
But what else is there to
consider...
...Style of play and then perhaps colour.
Weight and ‘feel’ are probably next in line, and as you finally get stuck between two choices you
hit the frame of one racket against the Badminton strings of another and vice versa.
One
makes a ‘diong’ sound the other a ‘ting’, and that’s the one for you.
Not
very scientific is it.
So here's how to decide on the
best Badminton strings for you...
My
advice regarding the size or type of Badminton strings you choose is to look at the Yonex website
as they claim over 90% of worlds top players ‘use Yonex Strings’. The majority of sports shops
offering racket re-stringing will use Yonex products. But be sure to only ask the advice of
the salesperson if they actually play Badminton – because most don’t.
In
terms of tension, soft/springy/tight/hard are hardly measurable terms.
String tension is usually between 16lb to
26lb, the re-stringer needs to know a number or you will get their best guess based on your
description. Many rackets now have their string tension range printed somewhere on the frame.
A spring tension of 22lb is
probably the average for a good quality new racket.
String
Tension |
Power |
Control |
Durability |
Feel |
Vibration |
Lower |
Increase |
Decrease |
Increase |
Increase |
Decrease |
Higher |
Decrease |
Increase |
Decrease |
Decrease |
Increase |
If
you can afford it, buy 2 or 3 similar rackets and then get them re-strung at different
tensions.
The
best advice I can give in terms of Badminton Strings is, feel it... test it... then decide on what
you like best.
If
you want to improve your fitness for Badminton then you should follow a Badminton training program
which is specifically designed for Badminton players. Find out more here - Badminton training program
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